The present invention is directed to coffee makers, and more specifically to a coffee maker for use on an open flame.
Camping is a popular recreational activity enjoyed by many. Some people camp so that they may enjoy the outdoors, and others use camping as an inexpensive alternative to staying in hotels.
Although many campers enjoy being in the outdoors, often campers like to enjoy the luxuries of home while camping. For example, many campers bring lounge chairs or hammocks, portable air mattresses or cots, and similar items to make a camping experience more comfortable.
One area in which camping devices are not as convenient as in the modern home is in coffee making. Brewing coffee, also called a dripped coffee method, is the most common home coffee making method. To produce brewed coffee, hot, but not boiling, water drips through coffee grinds and the hot water extracts coffee particles from the grinds to form coffee. The coffee often drips into a coffee pot or a thermal carafe.
For home brewing of coffee, most people use automatic drip coffee (ADC) makers. While most automatic drip coffee makers are portable, they require an AC power supply to function. An AC power is typically not available when camping. Thus, most campers resort to boiling water over an open fire or on a camp stove and mixing the boiling water with instant coffee. Another method for making coffee while camping is to use a coffee percolator that can be placed directly onto a fire or a camp stove. However, neither of these methods produces coffee with the flavor and in the same manner to which a user is accustomed in the modern home environment.
The present invention provides a drip coffee maker that may be used over an open flame, such as a flame from a camping stove. The coffee maker may include an upper portion having conventional automatic drip coffee maker components, such as a water reservoir housing, a spray shower head, and a brew basket, all of which may be made of plastic materials and may be shaped in conventional form. To protect the upper portion components, a base for the coffee maker is designed to direct the open flame away from the plastic components and to dissipate heat from the open flame so that the plastic components will not burn. In addition, the coffee maker includes a wrap assembly and heat sink that are arranged to fit around a decanter for the coffee maker, and which are configured to dissipate heat from the flame and away from the upper coffee maker components.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a base for the coffee maker is shaped like an upside-down U, with the sides of the undersurface of the upside-down U forming side vents that vent flames and heat to the sides of the coffee maker and not toward the front and back. In this manner, cool spots are created at the front and back of the base. The front cool spot protects a handle for a decanter of the coffee maker from overheating, and the back cool spot protects the upper coffee maker components from being damaged due to heat.
A boiler plate for the coffee maker is mounted underneath a top portion of the base and is spaced from the top surface of the base. A heater tube is attached to the boiler plate. During operation, water flows from the reservoir through the heater tube and up to the shower head. The boiler plate is preferably formed of a thermally-conductive material such as copper, and is arranged so that it is in direct contact with the flame. The boiler plate is spaced from the top of the base so that the base does not get too hot during operation, but is sufficiently warm so that a decanter resting on the top may be kept warm. To this end, the base also includes an indentation on the top surface for seating the decanter during warming.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a heat sink partially surrounds the decanter in the area of the wrap assembly. The heat sink is designed to direct heat away from the sides and front of the coffee maker so that the heat may be dissipated at the rear of the coffee maker. The wrap assembly is a hollow structure having vents, or louvers, at a back portion. The vents allow air to flow into and out of the wrap assembly so as to permit further cooling. The wrap assembly is designed so that it fits over the back portion of the base and thus is removed from the flame. The heat sink extends around the front portion of the wrap assembly so that it may direct heat at the front portion of the wrap assembly to the back portion.